Rail-joint.



G. D. RUSSELL.

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CHARLES D. RUSSELL, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 3, 1910.

Application filed September 22, 1909. Serial No. 519,053.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES D. RUSSELL, citizen of the United States,residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail- Joints, ofwhich the following in a specification.

My invention relates to joints for railway rails, and particularly tothat class of joints in which the end of one rail is provided with aslot or mortise and the end of the other rail is provided with a tenonadapted to project into the mortise, whercby'the rails are held inalinement with each other.

The object of my invention is to provide a rail joint in which the tenonand mortise are so constructed that the rails will not only be held inalinement, but will be prevented from being forced away from each otherbeyond the amount necessary for expansion, and in which the peculiarshape of the tenon and mortise causes the rails to be drawn toward eachother and into proper alinement when the rails are placed together, theobject of my invention being to do away with the necessity of fishplates, supporting shoes, or any other exterior devices for holding therails in engagement with each other.

For a full understanding of the invention and the merits thereof, and toacquire a knowledge of the details of construction, reference is to behad to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved rail joint; Flg. 2 is aside elevation,

artly sectional, of said joint; Fig. 3 is a ragmentary perspective viewof the end of one rail, showing the tenon projecting there from; and,Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the head of the complementary rail,showing the socket or mortise therein.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawing by the samereference characters.

Referring to these figures, A and B designate opposed rails of ordinaryI form. The rail A, at its end, is formed into a head 1, the sides ofthe head 4 extending vertically from the edges of the tread portion 2 ofthe rail, down to the base flanges 8 which form a continuation of theusual base flanges 3. This solid head 4 is formed with a centrallylocated mortise 5 or slot which extends into the rail the depth of thehead 4. The inner end of the slot is enlarged, as at 6, the walls ofthis enlarged portion being outwardly in (-lined so as to form adovetail slot. The end wall 7 of the mortise is curved at its upperportion, as at 8, for about half an inch, and is then downwardly and outwardly extended to the face of the base of the rail. The outer margin ofthe enlarged triangular end of the slot is inclined downwardly andforwardly on a line 9 which is parallel to the end wall 7. There is thusformed within the head of the rail a recess or mortise which is ex)andcd at its end and in which the side walls narrow toward the end ofthe rail and narrow from the base of the rail upward. The rail B isformed with a complementary tenon 10 which is in alinement with and anextension of the web of the rail below the tread 2. This tenon istriangularly enlarged at its end, as at 11, and has the downwardly andinwardly curved or inclined end 12 adapted to fit the curve 8 and thedownwardly and outwardly inclined wall 7 of the recess or mortise 6. Theinner margin 13 of the triangular head 11 extends downward and inwardparallel to the end 12 of the head, so as to fit the peculiar shape ofthe mortise in the rail A.

The construction described, it will be seen, provides a rail which islocked against lateral movement by the tenon projecting into themortise; which is locked against longitudinal movement by the enlargedhead of the tenon, and in which one end of the rail is drawn toward theother by the fact that the tenon narrows toward its upper face,

at its enlarged end, and thus, as the tenon is placed within themortise, and the rails are forced together, the rails will be drawntoward each other until they are in alinement.

Of course the usual means will be used for attaching the rails to theties or other supporting sub-structure, and shoes or other means may beused for mutually holding the engaging ends with the rails A and B, ifthought necessary. The tongue and mortise engagement, however, betweenthe two rails is such that it renders the fish plates or shoesunnecessary, as far as they are provided for connecting the ends of therails together.

It will be seen that my invention is very simple of construction, thatit provides a joint which cannot become opened unless the rails areentirely removed from the ties, and that no bolts or other fasteningdevices whlch are liable to become detached are used.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. In a rail joint,two contacting rails,

the base portion of one rail being formed with a mortise and the baseportion of the other rail being provided with a projecting tenon adaptedto be received within the mortise, the mortise having a dovetailenlargement at its end and being formed with an end wall inclinedupwardly and away from the end of the rail, the sides of said enlargedportion of the mortise being upwardly and inwardly inclined, the tenonon the other rail having an enlarged dovetail head, the end of the tenonbeing inclined upwardly and outwardly, said enlarged dovetailed end ofthe tenon gradually narrowing from its lower edge to its upper, inconformity to the shape of the said tenon.

2. In a rail joint, two contacting rails, the head of one rail beingformed with a tenon projecting from the base portion of the rail andless in height than the rail, said tenon having a dove-tail head, thesides of said head diverging downward and the end face of said headbeing inclined downwardly and inwardly, the inner margin of the dovetailhead being parallel to the outer end face thereof, the other of saidrails having therein a mortise to receive said tenon. 3, In a railjoint, two contacting rails, the ends of both rails being solid andhaving sides extending directly downward from the head of the rail tothe face thereof, the end of one rail being formed with a tenonprojecting from the base portion of the rail and less in height than therail, said tenon having a dove-tailed head, the sides of which divergedownward and outward, the end face of said head being inclinedclownwardly and inwardly, the inner margin of the clove-tailed headbeing parallel to the outer end face thereof, the end of the other ofsaid rails having therein a mortise of the same shape as said tenon,said mortise opening on the bottom of the rail.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES I D. RUSSELL.

